IMAGINE being on the RMS Titanic about to hit an iceberg and the passengers are running helter-skelter looking for safety.
Some may panic and jump off the ship, some will rush for the lifeboats while a few will stay calm and try to save others.
Bursa Malaysia is not exactly the Titanic. However, it can be similar to one during a crisis. If you do not know what you are doing, you are most likely to fall into the 90 per cent of investors who tend to lose money in the stock market.
Warren Mak, 54, the chief empowerment officer of TED Optimus Sdn Bhd and former Bursa vice-president (investor education), said the 10 per cent were actually earning the wealth of the other 90 per cent.
"Master your destiny. Be the captain of your ship. Preparation, courage and persistence will improve your financial success," he said in encouragement.
Mak's illustrious career spans 23 years in the capital market, comprising 15 years with Bursa, four years with OCBC Bank and four years with Southern Bank.
In his final four years with Bursa, while he was at the helm of the investor education department, he worked tirelessly to set up 20 investors clubs for university undergraduates in Malaysia.
His vast experience includes heading various departments in Bursa, ranging from risk management and financial derivatives development product to surveillance, where he was instrumental in regulating high-profile market manipulation cases.
"Malaysian investors are sadly lacking in knowledge. In Thailand, Hong Kong and Singapore, there are more retail investor participation due to the higher level of financial literacy.
"You need to first educate investors on how capital market products can benefit them.
"In Malaysia, there will be a large outflow of retail investors every five or 10 years, with those remaining becoming 'battled-hardened generals'. Most people have the wrong mindset when it comes to the stock market, thinking it is all about quick gains. And when they don't make money, they give up.
"My goal is to equip investors with the skillset, such as risk management."
Having passed the certified financial planner examinations, Mak founded his first company, TED Wealth PLT, to focus on financial planning and imparting investment knowledge.
Two years later, he co-founded TED Optimus (a financial technology company) with Charlie Yuan, a chartered financial analyst, to provide financial education.
TED Optimus' focus is on algorithmic trading and machine learning system to enhance retail investors' competitive edge in the market, which is often dominated by large funds.
"Our company won the Invest Hackathon award from Bursa in December last year.
"I do not believe in giving stock tips. I prefer to teach others how to fish," he said, adding that he wanted to help as many investors as possible to get them on the right path.
"The more learned the market, the more efficient it becomes. If the market is highly inefficient, it tends to affect other market participants through disruption of price patterns and movements of technical indicators."
Mak has been a trainer for the Securities Commission (SC) for several years.
His engagement experience with the authorities includes SC licensing examinations, InvestSmart nationwide roadshow, Bursa Malaysia Derivatives webinars and Bank Negara Malaysia's Financial Sector Talent Enrichment Programme.
He has also conducted many seminars for listed companies, investment banks, stockbrokers and other companies.
Mak said investors must have the right attitude, including frequently managing their profit expectations, in order to succeed.
"One shouldn't be overconfident with the occasional windfalls. Investment is a lifelong journey and the objective is to enjoy a sustainable income in the long run."
The writer was a journalist with The New Straits Times before joining a Fortune Global 500 real estate company. This article is a collaboration between the New Straits Times and Tradeview, the author of 'Once Upon A Time In Bursa'.